There's no legal method that I know of. Read about some of the less good features of Windows 10 (eg telemetry) and then be happy to stick with 8.1.

John

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Strange, I read where Windows 10 blows away Windows 8.1
Give me some more info why it's better to stay with Windows 8.1, besides saving $100 plus.
I see lots of Windows 10 on eBay where they include a HD or whatever to make it legal to sell you a Win 10 CD for around $35 or so... Not sure how that works?

I see lots of Windows 10 on eBay where they include a HD or whatever to make it legal to sell you a Win 10 CD for around $35 or so... Not sure how that works?

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I agree that Windows 10 has some advantages although I am getting annoyed by the frequency of updates which require a reboot while major upgrades to the OS run the risk of breaking something which worked previously. You can get the OEM price when the operating system is sold on the basis that it's for a new computer or substantially new build (you can get similar deals for MS Office) so it has to be sold together with some hardware. You might find the most cost-effective route is with a 2.5" HDD which you then put into an external enclosure and use for backups.

You can get the OEM price when the operating system is sold on the basis that it's for a new computer or substantially new build (you can get similar deals for MS Office) so it has to be sold together with some hardware. You might find the most cost-effective route is with a 2.5" HDD which you then put into an external enclosure and use for backups.

Sorry if the questions sound dumb... I just don't want to get scammed.

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The Windows 10 key won't be picky about the hardware it is installed on. I don't know for sure but I suspect that the people who are selling the keys are using some bulk buy licensing system. I recently bought Office 2016 Pro for a sensible price through one of these arrangements. It was advertised as being sold with a piece of old hardware in order to satisfy the OEM requirements but the key (which worked) came by email but the hardware never showed up.

@jack53: I agree 100% with John about the mixed blessings of Win10: It is indeed fairly speedy, and it can run WinRT/Metro apps in windows alongside classic Windows programs (Win8.x could only run them fullscreen). But its insistence on installing updates without user control, and its constant monitoring and sending back to the MS mothership, are simply infuriating. The automatic and forced installation of hardware drivers is particularly bothersome on older laptops.

I locked in free Win10 upgrades for both my two laptops by performing temporary installations before last summer's deadline, then restored my trusted Win8.1 installations.

I recently managed to clean install Win10 Creators on my Samsung NP700Z3A. It was motivated by corruption on my Win8.1 installation (which I could have fixed by restoring a Win8.1 backup image) AND wanting to be able to speak more intelligently about Win10 (over a year after everybody else migrated ).

I got it working (see here) but not without some hassles (mostly about AMD drivers) and cursing of Microsoft's arrogance. One surprising problem was Chrome freezing frequently (Google it). My cursing continues after using Win10 for a couple months, though not constantly.

When it doesn't get in my way, Win10 is indeed a bit faster than Win8.1. Despite the excessive monitoring and updating, there seems to be less background churn than in Win8.x. Even then, battery life was better in Win8.x (and even better in Win7).

I have no plans to upgrade my main laptop from Win8.1 anytime soon, if ever. And if I hadn't gotten the free upgrades last summer, I would not be running it on my Samsung either. In other words, I would not pay for Win10 -- and thus I have no experience with how and where to buy it economically.

I assumed you already had a Win10 license, which is why I recommended in an earlier post that you clean install it (instead of upgrading). If you don't, I would clean install Win8.1 instead. Use Classic Shell, disable all the Metro junk, and you'll have a fine Windows there.

That said, for anybody who has Win10 installed and working with no (or few) problems, I am certainly not suggesting they go back. I plan to keep it on my Samsung now that I got it working -- unless Microsoft forces some update on it that breaks everything.

Last comment: Have you asked if the previous owner of your laptop might have installed Win10 at any point? If so, your license is already locked in. Just a thought...